Lena Waithe: “To my LGBTQIA family, the things that make us different, those are our superpowers”

Lena Waithe: “To my LGBTQIA family, the things that make us different, those are our superpowers”

The first black woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing has a message for you

By Roxy Bourdillon

Published: 2017.09.20 10:06 AM

Twitter @LenaWaithe

Lena Waithe just made history. She and Aziz Ansari picked up a coveted Emmy award this weekend in recognition of their work on the hilarious and boundary-breaking Master Of None. (If you haven’t seen it yet, you can binge it now on Netflix.) The star-studded audience cheered and took to their feet when the announcer declared that Lena Waithe was “the first African American woman to win an Emmy for writing on a comedy series”. Go Lena!

The writer and performer gave a rousing acceptance speech. After she’d thanked all the people who helped her get to where she is, including her GF, she had one more group she wanted to speak to:

“My LGBTQIA family, I see each and every one of you. The things that make us different, those are our superpowers. Every day when you walk out the door, put on your imaginary cape and go out there and conquer the world because the world would not be as beautiful as it is if we weren’t in it.

“And for everybody out there who showed so much love for this episode, thank you for embracing a little Indian boy from South Carolina and a little queer black girl from the South side of Chicago. We appreciate it more than you could ever know.”

Lena Waithe became the first black woman to win a 'Best Writing' Emmy. And she had a message for the LGBTQ community. pic.twitter.com/CcxCLqhXBF